Carrier belt



Aug. 14, 1945. HOWARD CARRIER BELT Filed Sept. 11, 1942 INVENTOR. Georyely. llarmrd applied to existing types of belts.

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARRIER nnL r' IGeorge M. Howard, Cincinnati, .Qhio',"a'ssigno r to H w d n n r n &Manufa turin C0111? pany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio iv v gApplication September 11,1942;:SerialNo.458,027

3 Claims. (01. 198.4193) 7 This invention relates to a carrier beltofthe link or open type and which is adapted for a variety of uses inwhich articles and commodities in the course of manufacture orprocessing are moved on the belt from one stage to'an'other'of the work.i Y

An object oftheinvention is to provide a beltof this kind which isadjustable as to the open ings between the links so that, if smallarticles are being carried on the belt, the openings may be reduced tothe'necessary degree topreclude falling of the objects through the belt.

Another object is to provide such a belt in which theadjustment'referred to may be accomplished in a minimum of time.

Another object is the provision of a belt of this character-in which themeans for-selectively adjusting the. openings in the belt may beproduced simply and at low cost'and which means may be These and otherobjects are-attained by the means'describedherein and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a section of the belt of this invention shownin position on a conventional sprocket, portions of the belt beingbroken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In greater detail and with reference to the drawing:

The belt generally is formed with links disposed vertically or edgewiserelative to the plane of the belt. The parts of the belt shown arearticulated throughout and the belt is adapted to be built up from oneside to the other. Described according to such procedure, the beltcomprises relatively heavy side plates or links of elongated rectangularoutline. These are provided adjacent their ends with perforationsadapted to receive main belt rods 5, which rods are to extend clearacross the width of the completed belt. These rods next have placedthereon the rollers 1 and thereafter inner side plates 8 similar to theplates 5 are placed on the rods 6.

The next step in forming the belt of, this invention is the placing inposition on the rods 6 of stop plates 9. There are now placed on thesupporting rods 6 the links l0 seen clearly in Fig. 2. It will be seenthat these links are provided with end apertures similarly to the platespreviously described for receiving the belt rods 6 and, in addition,intermediate the length of each of these plates, one or moreperforations II, are

formed," three of such perforations being shown herein. r, I l

After the first set "of links Ill has been positionedlongitudinally ofthe belt, a set of spacing tubes or spacers is placed on'the rods 6.Then another longitudinallyextending set'of the aper-' tured links I0 isslipped: intoplace on-said rods,. followed by another set of spacers l2,and so on in similar manner; until the required f number thep'erforatelinks HT has been positioned. The present inventionprovides'nextfor inserting one or more auxiliary [or closure rods it through theperforations H providedin' the links 10. Th'e'jnumb'er "of rods l3employed 'de-' pends upon'the e'xtent to" which itis desired to reducethe openings'between the beltlinksj shown herein, all three perforationsl lfha'v'erods I3 inserted theret Qu h. The initially'inserted.

, ends of rods 13 are advanced to thefirst-formed side of thebeltwherez's'aid ends contact the stop plates 9; After-all of the rods13 have been placed, stop plates HI/identical with thestop plates 9, areslipped onto the belt rods .6. Following this, the belt is completed byadding thereto the side plates I5 and IS with the rollers I!therebetween. The extreme ends of the belt rods 6 have suitable meanssuch as cotter pins [8 associated therewith for holding the parts of thebelt together.

It will be understood that the belt so formed is adapted to be operatedover a sprocket, shown conventionally at H! (Fig. 2), the sprocket beingmounted on a shaft 20 and being formed with teeth 2|, shownconventionally in Fig. 1, which teeth are adapted to project between therollers 1 and I! on the two sides of the belt.

When it is desired to reduce or increase the number of closure rods l3employed, it is merely necessary to remove the side plates, rollers andstop plates on one side of the belt, whereupon the said rods may beslipped out of place, or

inserted, as the case may be.

By-the means of this invention belt openings may be adjusted as desiredso that one belt is sufficient for serving a wide variety of uses,whether the articles to be carried on thebelt are of large or smalldimensions. The belt may be made Wider or narrower by the use of longeror shorter belt rods 6 and closure rods l3, and by increasing ordecreasing the number of links l0 and their associated spacers, theassembly and relationship of parts being always the same. Theadjustments described may be performed by ordinary workmanship and in aminimum of time.

Modifications will suggest themselves upon said chains having aplurality of links disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the belt,transversely aligned apertures formed in the links for receiving thesaid rods, rod encircling sleeves spacing the links laterally, eachcarrier link having formed therethrough a plurality of apertures, theapertures in. transversely adjacent a links being in alignment, and anumber of supporting rods inserted in said aligned apertures, the numberof supporting rods so employed being determined by the size of thearticles to be supported by the carrier portion of thebelt.

2. A carrier belt comprising two sprocket engaging chains disposed inparallel, spaced relationship and each having longitudinal rows ofoverlapping side links, rollers positioned between the rows of sidelinks in transverse alignment with the overlapping portions therefor,transversely aligned holes formed through the overlapping portions ofthe side links and rollers, and common articulating rods passing throughthe said holes in the links and rollers, a carrier portion between thesaid chains having a number of spaced, longitudinal rows of links,disposed edgewise relative to the plane of the belt, with their ends inoverlapping relationship, transversely aligned apertures formed in theoverlapping portions of the links for receiving the said articulatingrods, rod encircling sleeves spacing the rows of links laterally, eachcarrier link having formed therethrough a plurality of of the articlesto be supported by the carrier portion of the belt.

3. A carrier belt comprising two sprocket engaging chains disposed inparallel, spaced rela tionship and each having longitudinal rows ofoverlapping side links, rollers positioned between the rows of sidelinks in transverse alignment with the overlapping pontions therefor,trans- 'versely aligned holes formed through the overlapping portions ofthe side links and rollers, and

common articulating rods passing through the said holes in the links androllers, a carrier portion between the said chains having a number ofspaced, longitudinal rows of links, disposed edgewise relative .to theplane of the belt, with their ends in overlapping relationship,transversely aligned apertures formed in the overlapping'portions of thelinks for receiving the said articulating rods, rod encircling sleevesspacing the rows of links laterally, each carrier link having formedtherethrough arplurality of longitudinally spaced apertures, theapertures in transversely adjacent links being in transverse' alignment, and a number of supporting rods held in said aligned apertures, alongitudinal row of imperforate stop plates interposed between thechains and the carrier portion of the belt, and said stop plates havingaligned apertures formed therein for receiving the articulating rods,the bodies of said supporting rods lying in the horizontal extensionlines of the stop plates, the number of supporting rods so employedbeing determined by the size ofrthe articles to be supported by thecarrier portion of the belt.

GEORGE M. HOWARD.

